Investigation the Distribution of Vegetation in Turkey by Using Remote Sensing Data and Gis

In this study which is based on the information taken from the map of Soil Conservation and Management Master Plan of Turkey published by the Ministry of Agriculture Forestry and Rural Affairs in 1987, all major soil groups were digitized and stored in a computer. After transferring process, the data in a GIS software have been used with different data such as main characteristics of the soils, provincial borders and settlements. For the pilot study, Thrace region, which is located in the North-West part of Turkey has been selected. In order to determine agricultural lands, forests, settlements and pastures in this area, Landsat TM dated 1992 and SPOT PAN images dated 1993 have been used. For using these data in the same GIS software, remote sensing data have been transferred into UTM coordinate system and image enhancement and classification techniques were used. Obtained information is transferred into GIS software and evaluated together with the other information. Joint use of GIS techniques applied to conventional mapping data and remote sensing data is an efficient tool for the decision-makers about the soil resources.